


The First Day

by Cat (ActualBuckyBarnes)



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, buzzfeedchallenge, gratuitous basketball talk, like i googled players and stuff i deserve some credit here, like not really but i tried, not a lot but some, this is nerd!ryan and jock!shane btw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 23:52:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14031594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualBuckyBarnes/pseuds/Cat
Summary: Ryan is taken on an... adventure on his first day of work.





	The First Day

Ryan pulled up to the gleaming mass of metal, finding a parking space somewhere close. He had his box of stuff with him: a notebook full of semi-fleshed out ideas, a flash drive, some trinkets, a calendar. He took a solemn breath and pushed open the doors, prepared for the worst.

 

Ryan had heard incredible stories about what went on inside Buzzfeed buildings and, truth be told, he was excited to be involved in a story that involved too many naked coworkers.

 

And then, he was greeted by an underwhelming “ _ Fuck _ !” as someone dropped their coffee. The boiling drink splashed up Ryan’s jeans, stinging the skin there.

 

“I’m so, so sorry,” The man said, blond curls flopping over as he picked up a few of the biggest shards.

 

Ryan shook himself out of his daze, stooping down to help. “It’s okay.”

 

As soon as he was done, the man stood up and held out his hand. “I’m Zack.”

 

“Ryan,” Ryan said shaking Zack’s hand. 

 

Zack glanced at the box Ryan had perched on the rim of a potted plant. “First day?”

 

Ryan nodded.

 

“I’m really sorry, man,” Zack grinned apologetically, “Wanna sit by me? I’ve got a spare seat and I promise I’ll try to not spill everything on you.”

 

“Only if you promise,” Ryan smiled back, feeling like a bit of a foolhardy character in a rom-com. Granted, Zack was an attractive human being, but Ryan wasn’t the kind of person to fall for every pretty face he saw.

 

Zack, still grinning, led Ryan to the promised empty desk. Ryan quickly spread his stuff out over the desk, as if maybe it’d be taken if he were too slow in unpacking.

 

“You’re a Lakers fan too?” Zack asked, grinning madly. Ryan gasped, excitedly turning to the other man. “Yeah!”

 

“Oh my  _ God _ ,” Zack looked at his clock, face falling. “Uhh… I wish I could stay and talk about this, but I have to work on this video. I’m supposed to shoot it today and I don’t even know who I’m gonna have in it!”

 

Then, as though he’d just realized who he was talking to, Zack’s face lit up again. “You could be in it - you’re an intern, right?”

 

Ryan nodded hesitantly.

 

“Don’t be shy - it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, c’mon,” Zack grabbed Ryan’s arm and yanked him along. Ryan tailed after the taller man, the linoleum floor rising up to meet their sneakers. In retrospect, Ryan  _ had _ wanted an adventure.

 

Ryan found himself in a small faded green car, fabric seats worn and fast food trash littered around the floor.

  
“Sorry, my car is kind of a mess,” Zack apologized, brushing garbage off of the passenger seat. Ryan sat down, buckling up as Zack explained the video.

 

Zack started the car. “So my idea was that we could have a few guys meet some professional basketball players - y’know, watch ‘em play up close and then like hang out for a day. And, wouldn’t ya’ know, the NBA was totally cool with that!”

 

Ryan blinked.

 

“So, I wanted to direct, and there were three players on the Lakers who really wanted to do it. I’m stoked, Garrett’s stoked, Jen’s stoked -”

 

“Woah, so which Lakers player am I meeting?” Ryan asked.

 

Zack had Ryan pull his notes out of his bag and tell him which player he didn’t match someone up with. “No  _ fucking  _ way -”

 

“It’s Madej, isn’t it?” Zack interrupted Ryan’s exclamation.

 

Ryan’s voice came way too close to a squeal when he replied. “ _ Yeah _ .”

 

And then, the insecurity set in. He was meeting  _ Shane Madej _ , and he was wearing a dumb graphic tee and coffee-stained jeans.

 

“You’re gonna do great!” Zack reassured, turning to violently honk at the mountain of traffic. Ryan let out a shaky breath, groaning into his palms.

 

Soon enough, though, Ryan looked up at the Staples Center, the red letters glaring down at him through the bright morning sun.

 

“This is just gonna be a practice,” Zack said, “So this place is pretty much just us and the people who have to be there all the time.”

 

Ryan was awestruck as he entered the main floor, where the Lakers were practicing. The tech and film crew for the shoot were already there, setting up a few tripods and some lights. A shorter woman and an astonishingly tall man were sitting on the bench.

 

“Sorry we’re late,” Zack grinned, one of the cameras swiveling around to face him and Ryan, “This is Ryan, the poor intern I’ve dragged along for his first video.”

 

“Aw,” Jen grinned, “He’s cute.”

 

“Thanks,” Ryan’s face flushed, and he realized how dumb his glasses looked. He handed the papers Zack had had him carry back to their owner and took his seat on the bench by Jen and who he could only assume was Garrett.

 

Jen patted his shoulder. “You’ll do fine. Who’re you hanging with?”

 

“Madej,” Ryan murmured, and Jen’s eyes got huge.

 

“ _ Dude _ ,” She gaped, “He’s so cool. Lucky duck!”

 

“Oh, like you got  _ stuck _ with Lonzo  _ Ball _ ,” Ryan rolled his eyes, watching the practice. Jen laughed next to him, and after a solid five seconds of pretending to be mad, Ryan broke too.

 

“I have never watched a Lakers game in my  _ life _ ,” Garrett interjected, “And yet, this is somehow the best day of my life.”

 

They spent the next three hours joking and - maybe this was just Ryan - watching the… athletic prowess of the basketball players. So, okay, maybe Michael Jordan in Space Jam was Ryan’s sexual awakening, but was that  _ really _ Ryan’s fault?

 

The end of rehearsal came too fast and, yet, not fast enough. Everyone sort of pittered to a stop, grabbing towels and water bottles. Shane Madej even stopped in front of Ryan to introduce himself.

 

“Hi!” He grinned, “I’m Shane Madej. Who are you?”

 

Ryan, who had been expecting ‘are you the idiot they signed me up to go to Starbucks with’ stuttered out, “Y - yes?”

 

Shane started laughing, and Ryan desperately tried to correct himself. “Sorry - sorry, I mean - my name is Ryan Bergara! I’m sor -”

 

“Don’t sweat it,” Shane said through tears of laughter, “That’s the hardest I’ve laughed in ages. You ready? I take maybe half an hour to cool down and change out, and after that I think they want us to go to, like, lunch or whatever.”

 

Ryan nodded. “Oh, yeah. Sweet.”

 

Shane left, and Ryan buried his face in his hands. Jen patted him on the shoulder awkwardly.

 

“At least it’ll make a good video,” Ryan grumbled into his hands, voice muffled. Jen made a noise of affirmation, and soon, Ryan had devolved to playing a game on his phone. Shane appeared, looking alarmingly normal for someone who was on the Lakers - the  _ Lakers _ ! - wearing a hoodie and jeans.

 

“Ready?” Shane asked, a twinkle in his eye. Ryan felt something in his heart twist in a not-unpleasant way, and he nodded and grinned back.

 

Ryan suggested an Italian place - Cafe Palermo. Shane agreed, pulling it up on Google Maps and pulling out of the employee parking lot at the Staples Center.

 

They finally got to the Cafe, and it was a cute little place, with checkered tile and tables outside.

 

“Wanna sit out here?” Shane asked, sitting down at a circular table. After checking them in, Ryan joined him, looking at the menu. The waitress came out, a young woman with curly black hair and a polite smile.

 

“Hi, I’m Veronica, I’ll be your server. What can I get for you gentlemen?” She asked, holding up the notepad, “Anything to drink?”

 

Ryan got a Fanta and Shane just got water, and Veronica went back inside for a while.

 

“So…” Ryan began, absolutely buzzing with adrenaline.

 

Shane looked bemusedly at Ryan as Ryan asked so many basketball questions Shane almost didn’t know what to do with him. Shane replied as short as he could every time, hoping to speed through questions about his job.

 

And after a while, Ryan seemed to catch up on that. “Sorry, dude, if this is like, boring, or -”

 

“Hey, it’s okay!” Shane grinned, “It’s just… look, I get asked these questions every day. I know you want to hear it right from the horse’s mouth, but so does every reporter in existence. I’m kinda tired of talking about my day job, y’know?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Ryan nodded, silent for a moment. “Why don’t you ask me questions, then? We’re supposed to be hanging out, right? I’m not interviewing you.”

 

Shane was quiet and thoughtful as he asked his questions. “Where are you from?”

 

“SoCal,” Ryan replied, chin resting on his hand. They chatted for a while until Ryan brought up the one subject he’d hoped Shane didn’t disagree with him on.

 

“... Woah, woah,  _ woah _ ,” Shane interrupted, “You believe in  _ ghosts _ ?”

 

“You  _ don’t _ ?”

 

Shane peered at Ryan over his water, dumbfounded. “Yeah, I’m not an  _ idiot _ -”

 

Before they continue, Veronica interrupted them. “Are you ready to order?”

 

And they got what they wanted, and they went right back to arguing. The heated debate lasted for another good hour and a half, with intermittent breaks for eating and glaring at each other without much fire behind their eyes. In fact, Ryan would say that Shane was growing on him

 

“Stop for coffee before I take you back to work?” Shane asked as Ryan sipped on the last refill of his Fanta. Ryan nodded, and Shane took him to Starbucks.

 

“Man, I can feel myself getting whiter,” Ryan joked as he walked into the store. They both got their usuals and piled back into Shane’s car.

 

“How do you stand this thing?” Ryan asked, “You’re, like, a giant.”

 

Shane joked back. “Watch it, Bergara. It’s not my fault you obviously didn’t eat your greens.”

 

“Oh, yeah, and I’m sure you grew up eating nothing but kale and green beans,” Ryan said, pouting mockingly and taking a sip of his latte.

 

Shane snorted. “Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve eaten.”

 

“And what would that be?”

 

“I dunno, Ry, there’s just so many good contenders,” Shane said, and in that moment Ryan truly knew what it was like when people talked about butterflies in their stomachs, electricity down their spines. And, of course, Shane had to follow it with the least sexy sentence imaginable. “Like, this one time, I just fucking took a bite out of a pumpkin.”

 

“And suddenly, everything about you makes sense,” Ryan exclaimed, “Your head is actually just a pumpkin!”

 

“Asshole,” Shane remarked, drumming his fingers on the dashboard as there was a lull in the conversation. It wasn’t awkward, Ryan realized, it was just like they were two pieces of a puzzle clicking into place and they didn’t need to talk all the time.

 

“I liked hanging out with you,” Ryan admitted as Shane pulled into the parking lot of the Buzzfeed office.

 

“You too, little guy,” Shane smiled, pulling Ryan in for a one-armed hug after he’d parked.

 

“You’re still a dick.”

 

“And you’re still an asshole.”

 

“We’ll have to do this again.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

And with that, Shane was pulling away, and Ryan felt panic shoot through his body.

 

_ Fuck _ , thought Ryan, in his coffee-stained jeans and shitty t-shirt and Nike tennis shoes,  _ I don’t have his phone number! _

 

Now melancholy, Ryan trudged back into the office, feeling deflated and exhausted after the eventfulness of his first day. It was only after lunch, everyone else slowly meandering back into the office. Ryan plopped down at his desk, Zack still not back to fill the space between him and the guy on Zack’s left.

 

“Justin,” He said curtly, introducing himself and letting Ryan do the same before going back to his project. Slowly, Ryan turned on the computer, throwing his empty latte into the trash can under his desk. He drummed his fingers on the desk, letting his reality catch up to him.

 

It wouldn’t be eventful all the time, and it wouldn’t be Meeting A Basketball Star You’ve Had A Crush On Since He Was In The NCAA big, but it would be good. Ryan thought it would be good, anyway.

 

Then, he realized that there was something smudged onto his hand. Sharpie, from his coffee. He figured he’d never looked at how the barista had written his name - Shane had gone and gotten both of their drinks. He looked at it, turning it over to see two different styles of handwriting.

 

One had his name on it - and the other had a phone number.

 

_ call me, since you seem to think ur hot shit ;) _

 

And then, it was decided that as long as Ryan lived, there really wouldn’t be a day that lived up to that one. He’d peaked.

 

Of course, he’d say differently later. But, then again, he’d still have six and a half years to go until Shane proposed.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! this was all part of the [buzzfeed creation challenge](https://thebuzzfeedchallenge.tumblr.com/)!! this all happened due to my friend joey who had the idea for this au and also sorta became my new, better parent.


End file.
